Featured Photographing your antiques

Very nice and effective photos. I must say that, while I like the card and the exposure and crispness of the scan, it's making me crazy that it's clipped on the one side.

One thing I haven't tried that has been on my mind for a long time is the use of an 18% gray background. This is a neutral gray tone used to measure the intensity of incidental light when doing metered readings for photographic exposure settings.

The thing is that with an automatic camera, light metering is being done internally whether you like it or not.

If you shoot a white object against a dark ground, you have to have the object close enough that it is a significant part of what the camera is seeing, otherwise the camera is mostly seeing the dark ground and the exposure will compensate for that darkness, leaving the object very contrasty (if not a white silhouette).

If shooting against a white ground, the camera compensates for all that white, leaving the object looking dark.

Having a neutral gray ground ought assist in giving you correctly exposed pictures when using an automatic camera.

If you have a camera that allows you to adjust the various settings, a gray card, or neutral gray background, can still be useful in determining what those settings should be.

Of course you can put a dark object against a dark ground, or a light object against a light ground, but in my experience the results are seldom satisfying.

There have been times when I have photographed a light object against a dark and light ground in turn and then copied the better exposed object into the more attractive ground. But who needs that aggravation?

 

I accidentally bought a huge roll of light blue upholstery fabric years ago at auction.

I've been using a swatch of it for background on many pics. Now I see many other listings using a similar color. They all must have made the same mistake as me.

 

Were you referring to the left-hand side of the card? It's not clipped... the left side of the card doesn't have the scalloping. The card is like a contemporary one that's folded in half horizontally, and the left side is where it folds. The black background was part of the original scan.

I was thinking of using a gray background for the same reasons you mention, to try to help the camera along in getting the right exposure, but haven't tried it yet.

Last week I bought a set of two foam core boards that are gray on one side and tan on the other. The surfaces are flat but have a slight pattern that gives both sides a textured look that I thought might work for photo backgrounds.

With my old Nikon Coolpix, I usually changed my camera settings depending upon whether I was using a black or white background. Generally, I used the center weight setting for items against a black background but usually not for a white background.

Also, for white backgrounds I usually used a +1 or +2 exposure and a -1 for black backgrounds.

With my newer Canon, sometimes the automatic settings work fine and I don't have to fuss with the settings, but sometimes I do the same as what I did with the Nikon.

 

The best Toonoo Sharky I've ever had the fortune to own......& the best I've ever seen !
He's done bigger, and wilder....but none this sublime ...with the best wings he's ever carved..!

 

Thanks for the additional photos komokwa - they are great! I've never heard of him, so I looked him up, amazing pieces. Lucky you to own a piece of his work.

 

Yes. My mistake. I hadn't realized it was a folding card. I assumed a single diecut and embossed sheet.

Well... you know what they say about assumptions.

komokwa: that is a beautiful carving.

 

I've certainly done my share of assuming things!

 

He does things differently....I'll give him that !
I did own it.......but shipped it out to a SMART client in Arizona !
Bills to pay......& it's hard to keep the best stuff....once others see it !!

 

Oh....& just to add....all that weight rests on one thin ankle......it's enough to raise yer blood pressure !!!!

 

When I was selling regularly on eBay, I made my own light box (I made it fairly weak though. Large box and cut off a piece I should have left in place)...........same as mention before box tissue box knife and tape. I still had it for several years, it had seen better days and we moved, just figured I make another. My best place for my photos were shot in the master bedroom with a south facing window and only before like 2pm in the afternoon. Any other room or time of day I pulled my hair out trying to get that "perfect" shot. BTW wonderful photos posted

 

I am simply in awe of you folks who have such great photographs. Wow, just wow!

I have to go back and read this thread again for particulars.

Someone mentioned that pics look better on Etsy than ebay.
I agree with this. For a long time, the front page of Etsy was curated with treasuries and so only the best of the best (most with white backgrounds) saw the front page.
It was an incentive to take better shots to be in more treasuries. Now that is gone, but I think it had a long lasting effect on shop owners to really up their game. Many go for that magazine look which is very effective, I think. It certainly helps to sell things.

I will do some staging on an item, but not too often. I think there is a subtle balance in staging that needs to be used. I often see items for sale there with multiple items in the shot and wonder what are they selling exactly? The only way to know is by reading the title.

I am a work in progress when it comes to photographs. I keep striving to get better, sometimes I am lucky and sometimes I just can't get the right look. At some point I just have to put forth my best effort or I would never list anything.

 

Yay!! The lens motor on my Nikon Coolpix compact digital camera seized up 4 days ago. Maybe it was me, maybe it was the camera but I had struggled to get sharp photos and the colour balance always seemed to be off. Not good when the images were used to sell on Ebay and website and often meant painful correction on Irfanview.

Got an urgent replacement, another cheap compact, Canon Powershot S200, £79 in Currys.

Much better in low light conditions, wifi connect to desktop and sharp images. Am beginning to enjoy taking photos again, who knows, I may even read the manual and try to understand how the settings work

 

I thought of making a new thread, but then I remembered this one existed.

Here's some of my 'artsy' shots of my antiques...


Underwood portable typewriter from the late 1920s.


Antique brass telescope on top of a 19th century atlas (which is from the 1870s, I believe).


His & Hers. A Night at the Theater
L-R: Gold bangle. 1820s Georgian silver & gilt vinaigrette. 1885 LeMaire opera glasses. 1920s dress pocketwatch. Sandalwood fan. Sterling silver propelling pencil-pen set. 1880s blue enamel opera glasses. 1890s IWC pocketwatch. 9ct gold Edwardian cufflinks. 1880s sterling silver card-case.


On Campaign. Pith helmet. 1860s campaign writing box. Sandalwood fan. Sterling silver dip-pen. Vintage brass chamberstick. Vintage folding table. Victorian-era brass field-glasses.


Different angle.


Victorian brass candleholders. Brass carriage clock and vintage pocketwatch. 1920s-style Sheaffer fountain pen.

 

These are beautiful! Thanks for the tip!

 

Thank you for this informative thread!
Lighting is a serious issue for me, since the best light is only available for a brief period of time; and that time often seems to be in direct conflict with something else I have to do.
Do you ever use a light box to photograph items? Is it a worthwhile investment?

 

We have a light box set up permanently which we use daily. It isn't an expensive set up, but we have augmented the lighting with 4 side and 1 top lights. It means we can photo objects for online sale whatever the ambient light levels so for us it has become essential.

 

Did you improvise your own box, or go with a manufactured product?

 

We found our mini photo booth at the back of an auction lot! It was a manufactured product, just an 18" cube of transparent fabric and a couple of lights. I see similar ones on Ebay that are pretty cheap. I'm sure a professional photographer would not be impressed, but it does the job for enabling photos of small items in poor light conditions